Stranger Things Chapter 4
by isaac103
Summary: Picking up where season 3 left off, chapter 4 is a fictional take on what becomes of the Hawkins gang as they try to move on from the events at the StarCourt mall. At the same time, the Byers are beginning their new life in an unknown town, with Eleven starting high school alongside Will Byers.
1. Chapter 1

Stranger Things Chapter 4 Part 1

Isaac Yuen

The sun shone through the window and onto Eleven's face as she laid in her bed. Her curls brushed up against her face as she turned to face away from the window. It had been only a few weeks since she had moved with the Byers family from Hawkins, Indiana to a small town just two hours away. She sometimes cried in her sleep, only for Joyce, Will, or Jonathan to come into her room to see what was wrong. Just then, Will appeared in the doorway, his eyes looking groggily as ever.

"Morning El," he said. He looked around his adopted sister's room. The walls were painted light pink, similar to the dress he and the gang had stolen from Nancy Wheeler's closet. (Thankfully, she let Eleven keep it.) Next to Eleven's bed was a dresser Joyce let her have. On the dresser was a picture of Mike, Eleven's now long-distance boyfriend along with a clock.

"Morning Wil," Eleven replied. She looked at him with a blank stare before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. _Thanks a lot Wil, _he thought to himself. _Way to start off on the wrong foot._ He returned to his room to get ready for the day. Today was the first day of school for him. New school, new friends, new, just about everything.

"Mike!" Karen Wheeler called. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Coming!" he yelled back. As he sat in his basement, he took a look at the makeshift sleeping area that he gave Eleven when he and his friends first met her. The sleeping bag he gave her was still there. As he walked up into the kitchen area, he saw that Nancy and Holly were already at the kitchen table eating.

"Morning Mike," Nancy said. She grabbed an Eggo waffle from the serving plate.

_Eleven loved Eggos,_ Mike thought to himself as he seated himself at the table. _I already miss her._ As he helped himself to a stack of the squared-filled waffles, he thought back to the events at StarCourt Mall. Ever since the Mind Flayer was destroyed, life for the Wheeler family just wasn't the same. Every week, throngs of reporters would come and invade their privacy just to glean more information about how the Soviets managed to establish a secret base underneath the mall. Just then, Karen entered and seated herself at the table.

"Morning everyone!" she said, a smile appearing across her face. The three kids just continued to eat in silence. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Mike replied.

"He's probably upset about losing his only girlfriend," Holly said, breaking into giggles. Nancy struggled to swallow her glass of milk, her face threatening to break into a laugh.

"Hey, that's not funny!" Mike shouted. Holly suddenly burst into tears before getting up and running off.

"Mike, what did we talk about disrespecting your sister?" Ted Wheeler asked. He entered the dining room before heading to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup. Nancy got up and ran after her sister, leaving Mike at the mercy of his parents.

Max laid on Billy's bed, her face red after another night of crying. Her stepbrother, Billy, was gone. The trauma was still fresh in her mind. She still couldn't believe it. Billy was dead, having sacrificed his life to save Eleven. Just then, a knock drew her to the front door, which she opened.

"Morning Max!" Lucas said. The skinny African-American boy had just dismounted his bicycle and walked it to the front door.

"Lucas!" The orange-haired girl quickly gave Lucas a hug before joining him on the back of his bike.

"So what's been new with you goober?" Max asked, giggling. Her hair flowed in the wind as the duo took off towards the Wheelers' house.

"Nothing much," Lucas said.

Dustin rummaged through his room, looking for his pet turtle. _Good lord, _he thought to himself. _Where did he go?_ Suddenly, his closet doors banged against each other. Dustin flinched as he picked up his can of hair spray and slowly approached the closet. _Ah shit, what if there's another baby Demogorgon? _His mind flashed back to two years ago when he adopted what he thought was a cute little pet he affectionally named Dart. After losing his cat Mews to the bastard, Dustin knew that whatever laid behind those doors probably wasn't good. He picked up his SuperCom.

"Hey Steve, you there?" he asked. The speaker buzzed as Dustin hoped Steve would pick up.

"Sure thing man," came Steve's reply. "I'm kind of busy now working at the Family Video with Robin and Keith though. Why? What's up?"

"What time are you and Robin both getting off work tonight?" Dustin asked. The banging on the closet door grew louder and louder.

"Uh, Dustin," Steve asked. "What's that noise I'm hearing?" Steve could tell something was wrong just by what he was hearing on his walkie talkie.

"Can you or Robin just come over here please?" Dustin pleaded.

"I'll send Robin to pick you up," came Steve's response. Dustin put his walkie talkie down on his bed, packed up his second radio tower, Cerebos 2, before running out of the house. Thirty minutes later, a dark blue car pulled up.

"Hop in!" Robin called. Dustin got in before Robin drove off.

"Can you stop at the Wheelers'?" Dustin asked.

"Sure," Robin said. Just give me their address."

As Eleven walked down the stairs, she could smell the Eggo waffles that just popped out of the toaster. It reminded her of her time with Hopper when he adopted her and would serve her Eggos for breakfast. The thought of Hopper made her tear up. She quickly wiped them away before seating herself at the table.

"Morning everyone!" Joyce said as she and Will took their seats at the dining room table.

"Morning," Eleven said. She poured syrup on her waffles before giving the container to Will.

"So you two ready for your first day of school?" Joyce asked. A beaming smile gleaned on her face as she pulled out two backpacks from under the kitchen sink.

"Mom," Will said with a groan in his voice. In front of him and Eleven were two backpacks, one in a navy blue color and one in a splash of yellow. "What's with the yellow backpack?"

"I thought Jane would like the color yellow." Joyce sighed as she rummaged through the cupboard for another plate.

"School?" Eleven asked, a worried look dawned on her face as she turned to face Will.

"Don't worry," Will said. "You're going to love it. You'll make lots of new friends." Eleven took it all in. Without Max to help her out, she would have to learn how to navigate freshman year of high school on her own. Even worse, without her powers, Eleven would be defenseless against any bullies that she and Will had to face.

"I hope you two like them," Joyce said. Just then, Jonathan came down the stairs, still in his sleeping clothes.

"Morning everyone," he said. His eyes had dark bags under them, a sign that he did not have a good night's sleep.

"Morning sleepy-head," Joyce said. She got up and ushered him to a seat next to her. As the family continued to eat breakfast, Eleven wondered when would be the next time she would see Mike again. Even though she was good friends with Will and Jonathan, it just wasn't the same.

"El," Jonathan said, breaking her train of thought. "I have something special for you." He smiled as he pulled out a SuperCom walkie talkie, similar to what Mike, Lucas, and Dustin all had. Eleven screamed with excitement as she got up and ran to hug him.

"Thank you Jonathan!" she said, breaking into sobs as she wrapped her arms around her big brother.

"Now you can keep in touch with Mike and everyone else," Jonathan said.

"Where did you find one?" Will asked. He knew that his family was too poor to afford such an expensive toy.

"One of the new neighbors gave it to me for free," he said. He grabbed a tissue from the tissue box and gave it to Eleven. Will continued to look on in surprise. Now that the family had a walkie talkie, they could resume talking to the gang like nothing ever happened. Eleven excused herself and dashed up to her room with the SuperCom.

Lucas and Max arrived at the Wheelers' house. Mike had told them earlier to come on over, for he had something new and fun for them. Max dismounted from the bike before dashing up the front steps to the door. She rang the doorbell and waited for Mike to open the door. Instead, Karen appeared.

"Well, hello there," Karen said, surprised to see Max and Lucas at the front door. You must be Max, the cute girl Mike's been raving on about." Max mentally rolled her eyes. She did not appreciate being called cute.

"Sure, I guess," Max said. "Is Mike here?"

"Let me get him," Karen said. She disappeared to the dining room before Mike appeared.

"About time you guys got here," he said. The trio went to the basement.

"So that's where El slept?" Max asked, pointing to the sleeping bag.

"Yup," Lucas chimed in. "That's how Mike met his first love." The two roared with laughter as Mike glared at them.

"Why don't you two go get a room?" he shot back.

"What did you just say?" Max angrily asked. She grabbed his shoulders, shaking with rage. She quickly released her grip, realizing that she was becoming just like her late stepbrother. She burst into tears before drawing Mike in.

"I'm sorry Mike," she sobbed as Lucas patted her on the back. Just then, the sound of screeching tires broke the air. The three rushed back upstairs to the front door just as it opened. Dustin and Robin both dashed in past them.

"Whoa, whoa," Mike exclaimed. "What is going on here?!"

"Fucking thing's in my closet!" Dustin screamed.

"Language guys!" came Ted from the living room.

"Come on everyone," Robin called out. "You all can stay at the Family Video store until Steve and I get off work." The three boys and two girls dashed out of the house and into Robin's car before she drove off, heading in the direction of the Family Video.

"So did you actually see a Demogorgon in your closet?" Mike asked. This couldn't be good news. If there was another one out there, Hawkins would be screwed. Without Eleven to combat them, the only thing they could do now is hoped it didn't find them.

"I heard my closet banging if that matters to you any," Dustin shot back.

"Wait!" Robin exclaimed. "A what?!" She continued driving, her eyes in complete shock at what the group was discussing amongst themselves.

"A Demogorgon," Dustin repeated. "Ever played Dungeons and Dragons?"

"I don't remember," Robin replied. Even if she did play the game, she barely paid any attention to all the pieces and such.

6


	2. Chapter 2

Stranger Things Chapter 4 Part 2

Isaac Yuen

Joyce pulled up to the local high school, a three story brick building. Next to it was the football stadium. The heat hit them like someone had punched them when Will and Eleven opened the car doors.

"Have a wonderful first day of school guys," Joyce called out as Will and Eleven got out.

"Sure thing mom," Will replied. Joyce drove off, leaving the two siblings at the front entrance.

"Will, I'm scared," Eleven said. She grabbed Will's hand, her hand trembling at the thought of attending classes for the first time. Thanks to some "convincing", Joyce managed to get Eleven and Will in the same classes together.

"It'll be ok," Will said as the two of them walked towards the front door. "I'm with you every step of the way." They entered the building where the air conditioning system cooled them off. Will showed Eleven where her locker was, which was conveniently located next to his, and how to open it using the combination lock. The bell rang and the Byers were off to their first class.

Their first class of the day was English. _Awesome, _Will thought to himself. _Now El will finally have a proper education._

"Good morning everyone!" the teacher said. "My name is Mr. Samuel Thomas. This semester, we will be taking a look through some classical works of literature." He took a look around the room. "But since it is everyone's first day, we're going to start by introducing ourselves." He turned and looked at Eleven, who was seated in front of him. "Young lady, why don't you stand up and introduce yourself?" Eleven felt a chill go down her spine. She rose from her seat and turned to face the class. The world seemed as if everyone gave her a thousand-yard stare.

"Hello everyone," Eleven began. "My name is Eleven." Will's eyes suddenly went big. _No no no _he thought. _You're supposed to say your legal name._ In that instinct, everyone except him and the teacher roared with laughter.

"Your name is Eleven?!" someone called out. "Where's ten and twelve?!" The class laughed even harder. Tears welled up in Eleven's eyes. The taunts brought back ugly flashbacks of when she was made fun of in the lab for failing to do simple tasks.

"That's enough everyone," Mr. Thomas said sternly. He turned to Eleven. "I believe your name is your first and last name?"

"My name is Jane Byers." Eleven said, her face turning red like a tomato. She wished she could turn off the lights so she could run out of the classroom.

"Welcome to the class Jane," Mr. Thomas said.

Robin pulled up to the Family Video store and parked in her spot. The kids jumped out of the car and dashed into the store.

"Whoa man!" Steve called out. "Where did you all come from?!"  
"Steve," Robin called out, entering in behind the group. "Your kids are here."

"Shut up Robin," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not their mother."

"Sure you are," she giggled. She quickly got back behind the counter and assisted Keith in restocking the VHS tapes before another customer came in. While Steve, Keith, and Robin all got back to work, the kids began to browse around to pass the time. An NES Nintendo system was attached to one of the walls, drawing Max's attention.

"Guys," Max called out. "check out this video game system that just came out!" While Lucas ran off to join his girlfriend, Mike and Dustin sat in the magazine aisle.

"I'm telling you man, the fucking Demogorgon is back!" Dustin said, his voice rising in pitch with every word. "Where is El when you need her?!"

"Hey!" Keith called out. "Watch your mouths!"

"Sorry," the boys replied in unison.

"So what do you think we should do?" Mike asked. "El's moved with the Byers."

"We should go steal your sister's car and drive all the way to where the Byers live," Dustin said, his voice sounding more and more happy. "Then we can ask El to come back with us."

"What?!" Mike said. "Are you insane?! My parents and Nancy would kill me!" He thought about what would happen if he made Nancy late for work, forcing her to take one of their parents' cars.

"Well, we could ask Steve to give us a ride," Lucas said. He and Max both returned from playing on the game system.

"But do we even know where they live?" Max asked. Her arms were folded upon each other. The boys sure knew how to drive her crazy.

The bell rang and soon Will and Eleven were seated in the lunch room, their trays of food in front of them.

"What is this stuff?" Eleven asked. In her spoon was a scoop of refried beans.

"Those are refried beans," Will said. He suddenly had no idea what Eleven was allergic to.

"El," Will asked. "Are you allergic to anything?"

"Allergic?" Eleven asked, confused at what the word meant. "What does that mean?" Will remembered that Eleven still had a lot to learn despite being with the group and living with Hopper for three years.

"Allergic means if you eat or touch something your body doesn't like, you're going to get sick," Will said. He hoped he had gotten the correct definition across.

"Oh." Eleven dumped the beans back onto her plate. "So does this mean I'm allergic to these then?"

"I don't know," Will said. "I'll have our mom take you to see an allergy specialist after school soon. Then we'll find out what you're allergic to, ok?"

"Ok." Eleven brought out her pack of Eggo waffles Joyce had packed away. _Oh boy,_ Will thought. _Here we go again with the Eggos._

As the kids and the three Family Video employees exited the store, Steve and Robin both knew something wasn't right. Ever since the Mind Flayer's death at the StarCourt mall, both knew that something didn't add up. The gate there was destroyed, causing the monster to fall to it's death. Yet, somehow another Demogorgon was able to get in from the Upside Down into their world.

"Do you think the Russians have a gate somewhere?" Dustin asked. Last year, he had spent almost six and a half hours underground with Steve, Robin, and Erica as they looked around for a way to stop the Russians from opening another gate in Hawkins. Now, with a Demogorgon potentially on the loose, the group had to find a way to close off another gate.

"I highly doubt it," Steve said. He was growing tired of constantly having to save the world and just wanted to settle down and enjoy his supposed adult life. "So I guess I'll be taking you all home then?" He looked at all the teenage kids he had grown close to.

"Steve, I can take Max home," Robin said. She was desperately in need of some female bonding time.

"Sure thing. Go ahead." Robin and Max got into Robin's car. As the boys got into Steve's car, Steve couldn't help but wonder why he suddenly became the "mom" of the group. As he pulled up to the traffic light, he quickly glanced into Robin's car next to him, only to see Max driving. _What the hell? _He thought to himself. _I remember when she almost got me and the other guys killed three years ago._ He shook his head in disbelief as the light turned green.

Nancy finished the last of her homework for her English class and put it away in her bag. She had spent the past few hours at school hanging out with friends and working as a student assistant at a nearby community college. After coming home, she saw that Steve had dropped off Mike. She parked her car and went on in.

"Evening everyone!" she called out. Karen went to the foyer to find Nancy putting away her shoes and unpacking her bag.

"Nancy!" Karen exclaimed as she gave her daughter a hug. "How was work today?"

"It was great mom," she replied back. "I got a lot of stuff done today and my boss says that I have Thursday and Friday off!"

"That's wonderful darling!" Karen smiled, proud at what her daughter had accomplished. "Ted, aren't you happy for her?"

"Yeah yeah yeah," came the monotone response from Ted. Karen sighed. He had always been like this since they first got married.

Mike, meanwhile, had gone to his room, pulled out his SuperCom and began attempting to message Eleven, to no avail.

"Hey Eleven!" someone called as she and Will waited for their brother to come pick them up. "Where's Ten and Twelve?" The student laughed as he boarded his bus.

"Mouth-breather," Eleven muttered. The tears continued to well up and slowly drip down her face.

"Leave them alone El," Will said. They're just being mean to you. Eleven embraced Will as she wept, frustrated at what transpired throughout her first day of school. Word had spread like wildfire that there was a new girl and her name was Eleven. There was no turning back now.

5


	3. Chapter 3

Stranger Things: Chapter 4 Part 3

Isaac Yuen

Steve and Robin later met in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven later after they had dropped the kids off. The rain bounced off their cars as thunder and lightning flashed overhead.

"What the hell did you let Max drive for?" Steve exclaimed. He was still shocked by what he saw.

"She just wanted to get some practice in. That's all," Robin replied.

"But does she even have her learner's permit?" Steve couldn't help but wonder if the girls had gotten pulled over anywhere.

"She does, Steve." The man who once dated Nancy Wheeler, now look bewildered at how fast the kids were growing up.

"Well, alright," he said. "Just make sure Max knows how to parallel park at least." After a few more minutes, the two of them decided to head home their separate ways. As Robin drove off, Steve's mind flashed back to when he first met Mike and the other kids. At first, he didn't really seem to understand what they were going through but afterwards, thing seemed to calm down some.

Max quietly entered her house, hoping that her parents weren't home.

"Max." A familiar voice rang out. It was the voice that made Max afraid. It was only used every time something bad was about to happen to either her or Billy.

"Yes dad?" she quivered. In that moment, she wanted to run out the door and make a run for it. Instead, she stayed where she was, frozen in place.

"Where have you been?" The mustached man entered the foyer, his forehead brimming with sweat. Neil Hargrove's eyes narrowed as he spotted something sticking out of her handbag. He instantly grabbed the bag, reached in, and pulled out a SuperCom.

"What is this?!" Neil roared. He smashed the walkie talkie against the wall, breaking it into many smaller pieces. Max began to cry. "Stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about!" Max quickly turned to run out the door but her dad quickly got in front of her and blocked her. "If you don't tell me who gave you this thing, I'm going to fucking hit you!" Max's skin suddenly went white, the hairs standing on their own.

"I'm sorry daddy!" she sobbed. "A black boy gave it to me."

"What's the name of that boy?" he screamed. He curled his right hand into a fist and smacked Max on her right shoulder. She howled in pain, collapsing to the floor. "I'm not asking you again! Who gave you this toy?!" He lifted his right foot and placed it above his stepdaughter's face.

"Ok!" Max screamed. "I'll tell you!" She curled up into a fetal position. "His name is Lucas."

"Lucas who?!"

"Lucas Sinclair."

"Funny last name for a person." Neil placed his right foot back on the ground and walked away. "And get ready for dinner. Fifteen minutes."

Eleven and Will sat in the back seat of Jonathan's car, Eleven still shaking after what transpired on her first day of school.

"How was your first day of school guys? Jonathan called as he drove.

"Horrible!" Eleven wailed as she broke into sobs. Will pulled her into his arms and embraced her as he cooed. "Everyone was so mean to me!" She bawled into her brother's shirt. The first day of school was supposed to be great. Instead, it was filled with people making fun of her name.

"Awww, I'm sorry," Jonathan said. "I'm sure it'll get better over time."

"Jonathan," Wil said. "You're not helping."

"Sorry." They pulled into the driveway just as Joyce came out the front door, metal tongs in her gloved hand. Eleven stepped out of the car, her eyes blood-shot red. Joyce immediately tossed the hot tongs and her glove to Jonathan who caught them. He grimaced as the tongs made contact with his bare hands. _Thanks mom, _he thought to himself as he and Will went inside.

"Awww, sweetie," Joyce said as she wrapped her arms around Eleven. "Jane, what happened on your first day of school darling?" As Eleven poured out her heart on what occurred, Joyce became furious. _No one's going to make my daughter's life a living hell,_ she thought. _I'm going to make sure she gets treated fairly just like my two sons._ But for now, she had to make sure her daughter was ok.

"Jane?" she asked. "Would you like to go shopping? We can let Jonathan and Will to do their own things."

"Ok," Eleven replied. She got into Joyce's green car as the two of them drove away.

Nancy got out of her car and walked into the Family Video store. She had a stressful day at work and had hoped to rent a movie to watch with her family just to pass the time.

"Nancy!" Steve said excitedly as she walked in. "How is everything?"

"I've been wonderful so far!" she replied. She looked around the store before approaching the cash register. "Have you seen Mike or any of the other kids anywhere?"

"Oh you mean Steve's children?!" Robin came out from the restroom, laughing. Steve sneered at her. "I brought them over yesterday. One of them, Dustin, said something about a Demogorgon in his closet or something?" Nancy's eyes suddenly shot open. She knew that couldn't be a good thing. She and Jonathan had both encountered one of those things before three years ago at his old place.

"Dustin saw what?!" Nancy asked in horror. After Robin reaffirmed what Dustin had told her, Nancy quickly dashed out of the store, hopped into her car, and took off towards the Hendersons' house, tire marks remaining where the station wagon once was.

"Dustin, did you go digging through your trash can again?" Lucas asked. As he and Dustin rode on their bikes to Dustin's place, the gang knew that whatever laid at his place had to be taken out. If the Demogorgon ever got out of the house, they could only imagine the kind of carnage Hawkins would be facing.

"No! I did not Lucas!" Dustin shot back. He was getting tired of the two boys making fun of him for keeping Dart.

"Has anyone seen Max?" Lucas asked, trying to change the subject. "I've tried to reach her all day but I couldn't get to her."

"Here," Dustin replied. "Let me try." He grabbed his SuperCom from his backpack and turned on the walkie talkie.

"Max, this is Dustin, do you copy? Over." As the minutes ticked by, the boys became worried. Max was usually very prompt and readily responded to any hails the boys made over the radio system. Suddenly, the radio squawked to life.

"Who is this?" a man's deep voice said. "This Mr. Hargrove. Whoever is listening, shut the fuck up."

"No one talks to us like that!" whispered Dustin. The boys had never even met Max's family, only her stepbrother. He pressed the call button on the SuperCom before Lucas snatched it out of his hands.

"What are you doing?" Dustin whispered loudly. "You are going to make things harder for Max."

"Don't worry," Lucas said. "I know what I'm doing." He pressed the call button. "This is Lucas Sinclair. I'm looking for Max."

"Stop asking for Max!" came Neil's voice. The speaker screeched as the volume limit was reached. "You call again, I'm going to find out where you live and make sure you were never born! Stop calling!" The line went dead soon after. Despite repeated attempts to call Max, nothing could be done to resolve the situation.

"What did that man just say?!" Dustin angrily asked. "No one talks about our best friend like that!" Just as the boys pulled up to Dustin's house, a red station wagon drifted in. Nancy and Mike both hopped out.

"Dustin!" Mike said. "Are you guys safe?!"

"We have a bigger problem!" Dustin exclaimed. As the boys explained to Nancy Max's predicament, his face glowed with anger. _How dare someone treats my brother's friend like that!_ He angrily thought to herself.

"Come on boys! You all hop in!" As Nancy climbed back into the driver's seat, she grabbed the phone book from the glove compartment. "Do any of you know Max's address?"

"I do!" Lucas quickly pointed out the address and offered to show Nancy the way. As the car sped off, an ominous roar could be heard as the Demogorgon came out of the house, the head of Dustin's newest kitten in it's mouth.

Joyce pulled her car into the parking lot. In front of them, a large building with fancy lights gleaned from the entrance.

"So here we are!" Joyce said. She turned to Eleven. "Oh honey! You're going to love the arcade!"

"Arcade?" Eleven asked. "What's an arcade?"

"It's a place where you pay to play video games! Joyce said cheerfully as the two women exited their car. "Come on, you'll love it!" As they entered the mall, it brought back good memories for Eleven. She reminisced to when she and Max went on their shopping spree, using Hopper's credit card to pay for all their purchases, as well as cause havoc with a few strangers. Just then, the pair bumped into a few students from the high school Eleven and Will attended.

"Hey Eleven," one of the girls sneered. "Where's Twelve?!" Joyce couldn't believe what she was hearing. _So those are the people that made my darling miserable. _She quickly walked over and confronted the two women and one man.

"Excuse me!" Joyce said angrily. "Did you three just insult my daughter?!" The three students attempted to walk away quickly but Joyce moved to block their path. "I'm not asking you three again! Did you all insult my daughter?"

"Who? Eleven?" The three roared with laughter. Eleven quickly grabbed Joyce's shoulder.

"Let's go," she said. _If only Max or Mike were here,_ she thought to herself. Despite Eleven's attempts to pull her mother away, Joyce refused to budge.

"If I hear from my daughter Jane that you or ANYONE at school insulted her, you all will be in a lot of trouble, understand?!" she yelled.

"Yeah, whatever." As the teens walked away, Joyce stood there, quivering in her shoes.

"You can call me Jane, Eleven, or El if you want," Eleven pointed out.

"That's fine El," Joyce replied. "Let's go get some lunch." The two headed towards the food court.

As Max laid in her bed, her thoughts flashed back to her time with Billy. Even though he was mean at times, he still loved her, despite not knowing how to love others. She placed her face into her pillow and wept silently. A knock was heard on her bedroom window. Max got up and opened it. Standing outside was the gang and Nancy.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Nancy, Mike's older sister," Nancy replied. Just then, Max's bedroom door opened and her stepfather appeared.

"Max!" he screamed. "What did I tell you about opening the window?!" He pushed her aside and looked out. "The fuck?! Is that the boy you told me about?!" Max nodded, tears streaming down her face. Neil suddenly grabbed Max and pushed her against her dresser, causing her to scream.

"Max!" Lucas yelled. As he attempted to enter through the window, Neil quickly turned around and punched him in the head.

"Fuck off boy!" he roared. By then, the rest of the gang except Nancy had climbed through the open window.

"Come on Max!" Nancy said. Max quickly climbed out the window, with Nancy helping the rest of the way. As the two girls ran off towards Nancy's car, the boys were still in the house, trying to escape.

"Oh no you don't!" Neil continued to struggle as Dustin and Mike pounded the man with anything they could get their hands on. Suddenly, a rock slammed into his head. Lucas had finished releasing his wrist rocket slingshot.

"Alright, let's go!" Dustin said. The boys quickly clambered out the window and dashed into the waiting car, Max in the passenger seat. Her face had been bloodied by her stepfather's beatings. As soon as the door closed shut, Nancy gunned the engine, the tires pleading for mercy as the car took off into the night.

"What the hell happened back there?!" Nancy asked.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Max said. She clambered into the back seat where she laid on Lucas's arms, sobbing.

7


	4. Chapter 4

Stranger Things Chapter 4: Part 4

Isaac Yuen

Throngs of people milled about the food court, various conversations mixing in with the music from the carousel operating nearby. As Eleven nibbled away at her hamburger, she couldn't help but figure out what was wrong with her or why people were making fun of her name. It was becoming distressing. Joyce could sense that something was really wrong with Eleven and worked to alleviate her worries.

"Eleven," Joyce said, her hand reaching over to play with her daughter's hair. "Don't worry about the people who are hurting you. Focus on the people who love and care about you." The young woman got up and sat next to Joyce in the dining booth. She wept into her mother's arms, finally feeling not like a lab experiment but for the first time, a real human being who had value.

The red station wagon passed by Dustin's place. Nancy immediately slammed on her brakes, causing the car to slide to a halt.

"Dustin?" she asked. "What the hell did you say was in your closet?" Out on the porch, the Demogorgon took notice of the red car, now occupied with juicy fresh meat.

"Noooo!" Dustin screamed. "My kitty!" Nancy floored the gas pedal as her car pulled away. The Demogorgon gave chase but eventually gave up.

"So you want to tell us how in the world did another Demogorgon get in your house Dustin?" Mike asked. The scenery seemed to pass by them faster and faster as the car sped along the street.

"I don't know man!" Dustin replied. "I just heard a noise in my closet, got scared, and called Steve to come send Robin to pick me up."

"Is this Dart's relative or Dart all grown up?" Lucas asked. Dustin couldn't help but remember the time when Dart ate Mews for lunch or dinner. _Holy shit,_ he thought. _Dart sure had an aggressive appetite back then._

"Who's Dart?" Nancy asked worriedly. She constantly swapped her focus between the road in front of her, the kids under her care, and the Demogorgon, which was still chasing them.

"Dart's Dustin's cute little pet," Lucas bragged, laughing. He felt a strong rush of pain before he realized Dustin had jabbed him in the shoulder. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Just shut up about Dart, ok?" Dustin reached into Mike's backpack and pulled out the SuperCom.

"Uhhhh Dustin," Mike asked. "Who are you planning on calling?"

"You'll see."

Joyce pulled her car into the driveway of their home. As she and Eleven stepped out, the two continued to talk about their time at the mall.

"Thanks for showing me the arcade!" Eleven said. She had a lot of fun learning how to play PacMan. And she was getting good at it too.

"No problem El," Joyce said. "Anytime you want a mother-daughter night, feel free to ask me as long as I'm off work." The two walked into the house. Eleven went to the dining room where she brought out some syllabuses out of her backpack for Joyce to sign.

"Mom?" she asked. "What is a syllabus?" On the sheet of paper were various rules and topics that would be covered for the semester. At the bottom was a signature line.

"A syllabus is basically an outline explaining what would be covered in the class," Joyce replied. She picked up her pen and signed on the signature line before handing the paper back to Eleven. "So what do you and your brothers want for dinner tonight?"

As Eleven sat in her room in her pajamas, she poured over the memories of her first day of school. It had been a stressful experience. She was getting tired of people making fun of her name. Plus on top of all that, she was stressed out about how she would do the rest of the semester. She packed her backpack, pulled the covers over her, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Eleven packed away her SuperCom in her backpack. She felt that by having the SuperCom out during lunch, it would help alleviate the loneliness she was feeling. Sure, she had Will but there was only so much the two siblings could talk about. She and Will both got out of the car and wished their mother goodbye before heading on into the school building. Their first two classes flew by quickly. Eleven was a quick learner. Despite the initial hiccup, English seemed to be her favorite subject.

Lunchtime rolled around. As Eleven waited in line to get her meal, she felt someone reach into her purse and grab something.

"Let go!" She screamed. Everyone around her turned and looked at her. In another line, Will quickly turned his head to see the on-going commotion. _Ah shit,_ he thought. _No one goes after my sister like that!_ He ran over to the source of the commotion.

"Leave her alone!" At that moment, a girl pushed Eleven to the ground, causing her purse to fall off her shoulder.

"How did you like that bitch?!" a female voice called out. Will couldn't discern who said it but he knew that he had to protect his sister. Eleven grabbed her purse and checked to make sure her SuperCom was still in there. She tried feeling for the metallic surface but couldn't. Her eyes suddenly went wide.

"Oh Eleven" someone called out. "Were you looking for this?" A boy in a dark green shirt and jeans held up the SuperCom.

"Give it back!" she cried. Eleven could only watch in horror as the boy threw the SuperCom on the ground. The metal antenna broke off before flying away. The outer shell disintegrated into many pieces. Tears began to flow from her eyes. Without the SuperCom, there was no way she could contact Mike or the others back in Hawkins.

"So who's going to contact you now slut?! Someone else called out. Everyone except Eleven and Will began laughing as a group formed around the two.

"Back off!" Will shouted. He immediately lunged at the boy and the two fell to the ground. The boy tried to grab at Will's face but Wil immediately kicked him in the jaws.

"You're going to pay for that!" the boy screamed. Suddenly, two school administrators appeared.

"Stop right there!" one of them said. The man pointed at Will, Eleven, and the young man who had just fought Will.

"You three," the woman said. "Come with me!" As the Byers and the boy all got up and were escorted out of the lunchroom, a chorus of "oohs" rang throughout. Will hated all the jeering. He wished his mom could come and pick him and Eleven up and take them home.

"Why aren't they answering?!" Mike said. The car swung around to the right as Nancy forced her car onto another street.

"Maybe they're in school," Dustin said. The group was beginning to wonder whether or not the Byers were ok.

"Maybe you should leave them alone," Max said. She sat up front with Nancy and was giving the young woman directions on where to go.

"No shit sherlock!" Lucas replied "What the hell kind of idea was that?!"

"Sorry," Max muttered. The gang eventually arrived back at the Wheelers' place. While Nancy went inside and up to her room, the gang went to the basement. They sat around the table where Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Mike used to all play Dungeons and Dragons.

"So can you please ask your mom or Nancy and see if they would be willing to come and take us to go see the Byers?" Max asked.

"How about Steve?" Dustin asked. "He seems to have a lot of free time on his hands."

"Yeah!" Max said. "Then I get to spend more time with Robin!" Lucas looked at his girlfriend in anger.

"Let me call Steve and see if he's available," Mike asked. He picked up the phone that was hanging on the wall and dialed Steve's number. After a few rings, Steve picked up.

"Hello?" he asked. "Do you know what time it is?" Mike checked his clock. It was 11:30PM. Thirty minutes till midnight.

"Sorry about that," he said. "But I have a favor to ask you?"

"Go ahead."

"Want to go somewhere?"

"Uh, sure. Where to exactly?" Steve had a feeling he knew what the gang wanted him to go to.

"So we're wanting to go visit Will and El." Mike hoped that Steve would say yes. His palms sweated and coated the handset.

"Let me check my schedule for next week," Steve said He quickly glanced at the paper schedule that was printed out next to him. "So apparently, I work all week but I can take you guys to go see the Byers this coming weekend if that works for y'all."

"Great!" Mike said. "Thanks for all the help mom." The boys laughed while Max looked on in horror as Mike hung up.

"Just what the hell was that?" Max asked. Her voice quivered in shock. "Calling Steve mom is so absurd."

"So?" Dustin piped up. "It's because Steve _is_ our mom." Max just shook her head, disgusted at what the boys were portraying Steve to be. In her head, Nancy seemed to be the more appropriate female role model. But that could wait. For now, an adventure was at hand.

That night, the group slept over at the Wheelers. Nancy let Max sleep in her room while the boys slept in the basement. As Dustin and Lucas dozed off to sleep, Mike couldn't help but stare at where Eleven used to sleep. _These past three years have been super interesting,_ he thought to himself. This group had all bonded together, helping Eleven become who she was. Mike dozed off to sleep, his eyes drooping ever so slowly.

The cream-colored walls of the principal's office reminded Eleven of the lab. The black and white checkerboard pattern made her sick to her stomach. As she sat on the bench, she became nervous. She had never met a school principal. She heard from Will and some of the other students that he had the power to punish students.

"Jane Byers," a woman called as she stepped out of the office. "Principal Span will see you now." Eleven got up and entered the office. In front of her sat a black man with a clean-shaven cut. His long, round glasses made him look as if though he was from a different time period. His desk was lined with typical office objects like a pencil holder and an American flag.

"Jane Byers," he said. "Please, take a seat." Eleven sat in the chair provided in front of the principal's desk. The principal put his hands together and sighed. "So I heard something about a fight in the cafeteria today. Your brother was also involved, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Eleven said. Beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead and began trickling downwards. "Am I in trouble? Is my brother also in trouble too?"

"I'm afraid so ma'am. I understand a student snatched this out of your hand." Principal Span pulled the damaged remains of the young woman's SuperCom. "May I ask what you brought this to school for?" His eyes drew narrow as he stared down at Eleven.

"I-I-I-I don't know sir," she stammered. By then, tears were beginning to seep out of her eyes and flow down her cheek. She didn't know how to explain it all to him.

"Let me bring in someone you might know." The principal briefly left his office and brought in her brother. "He showed Will the chair next to her and returned to his desk. "Maybe your brother might be able to explain everything?" Eleven looked at Will in shock. _What did Will do wrong?_ Principal Span sat down in his chair and looked at Will.

"Young man," he began. "Would you like to tell me why your sister was carrying around a SuperCom?" Will couldn't help but stare at it. Just a few hours ago, he and Eleven were both getting their lunches and now they were in the principal's office. Before either of them could answer, the receptionist dashed into the office.

"Sorry to interrupt sir but I think you should come see this!"

"Stay here!" the principal ordered. He and the woman both rushed out of the office, locking the door behind them.

"So what do you think happened El?" Will asked.

"Bad men," Eleven said. Will's eyes suddenly went wide. He had no idea the men from the Hawkins lab were still out to get Eleven.

"What do you think we should do?" Will asked. Without warning, soldiers stormed the office and pointed their rifles at them.

"Hands in the air!" one of them screamed.

8


End file.
